The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Wiki Guide

Races

There are 10 different Races in Skyrim. All have appeared in past Elder Scrolls games in the other regions of Tamriel. Each race has unique abilities and stats that make them better suited to different play styles. Check out the individual pages for each race for more details. All 10 Races are equal.

Choose what race you want to be carefully. You don't get a second chance to choose like in Oblivion.

This chart illustrates the various stat bonuses that each race receives when starting the game. The base value for all skills is 15, so a character with +10 to Heavy Armor would start the game with a Heavy Armor rating of 25.

Each race has various innate abilities unique to that race; some innate abilities are always active, while others are special powers that can be activated once per day. Some racial abilities are weaker versions of later skills that can be aquired during gameplay. These abilities can be incredibly useful in certain situations, especially early on, but they should not define character choice. They should be used as added abilities that complement your playing style, rather than used to enhance a skill path that would result in obtaining the true version of the ability.